


Sanctuary For All

by LadyofAvalon



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-12
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2017-11-07 13:13:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 10,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/431569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyofAvalon/pseuds/LadyofAvalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is never a dull day at the Sanctuary. Drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Set I

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the sixth Ultimate Drabble Challenge at the Jedi Council Forums, where we write one hundred drabbles in twenty weeks based on the five prompts given by the challenge mod every week. This story was nominated for and won Most Underrated in the FanFiction Awards at the Jedi Council Forums.

**1\. Lights!**

"Will you _please_ close those blasted curtains?"

"Just because you're a vampire, Nikola, does not mean that you are vulnerable to the sun," Magnus replied. Telsa gave her a blank look.

"I may not sparkle or turn into ash, Helen, but that does not mean that I like the sun in my face while I'm working," he told her. Magnus just shook her head at him and walked away, heels clacking on the floor as she went.

"Helen? Oh, come on!"

"Get over it, Nikola. And do it yourself. Stop being a self-absorbed imbecile."

"Vampire, remember? I'm not an imbecile!"

* * *

**2\. Camera!**

Ashley had always hated it when she saw the security cams moving around of their own accord. That meant that Henry was up to something. She didn't always know what, but she knew that, at the very least.

Henry enjoyed snooping. It was one way to put his tech skills to good use. His excuse was that he was learning…and that way he could keep Magnus from forgetting things. In all reality, he was just being nosy because he could.

The funny thing was, he never got caught unless it was something _really_ important. It was like Magnus knew everything.

* * *

**3\. Action!**

Will did not sign up for this when he told Helen Magnus that he would join her team at the Sanctuary. Oh, no. He had not signed up to be going after some giant bug creature. He hadn't signed up to be attacked by his friend or end up dying or anything like that.

He wouldn't admit it if he was asked until long after he had started. In the end, he wouldn't trade it for the world. He was happy there. He wanted to be there. It was a family No matter what happened. They were always a family.

* * *

**4\. Roll!**

Fifteen years had passed. Fifteen. Years. Helen could barely believe it as she looked out over the city. Fifteen years since Ashley…

She still couldn't think about it. It still hurt too much. Letting go did not mean that the pain was gone when she thought of her daughter.

A hand appeared on her shoulder out of nowhere a moment later. She looked over to see John standing behind her. He gave her a weak smile and pulled her close. She turned in his arms, pressing herself against his chest.

Here, at least, she was safe from the surging pain.

* * *

**5\. Shoot!**

An explosion rocked the Sanctuary to its foundation.

" _Nikola_!" Tesla winced when he heard Helen shrieking his name from her office. Oops. That had probably been a bad idea. Maybe. Oh, whatever.

She appeared a moment later, looking furious. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. Tesla shrugged.

"The usual. Experimenting. Emptying your wine cellar. Making things explode when I accidentally shoot them. You know."

"Nikola…"

"Lucky me. I made Helen angry. That's not something you see every day," Tesla said dryly, reaching for his glass.

Helen had to fight not to slap the smirk off of his face.


	2. Set II

**6\. Adventure**

"This is _not_ what I had in mind when I said that I wanted to go on a trip!" Tesla growled. John and Helen exchanged glances. They were obviously pleased with themselves.

Of course, they did have a vampire hanging from the ceiling from his ankle because of a trap he had set off.

"Oh, come now, Nikola, I'm sure it's not as bad as you're making it seem," John said. Telsa let out a hiss.

"Say that again, Johnny, and I'll rip your throat out!"

"My, aren't we in a bad mood," John replied. Tesla just glared at him.

* * *

**7\. Romance**

It had been a long road to where they were now. It had taken loss, a multitude of trouble, and more than a hundred years to bring them back together.

The part of John that had caused so much wrong was vanquished with the energy monster. Even Tesla couldn't bring them down anymore. He was off doing something in Australia while they were quietly returning to how things had been before the Jack the Ripper incident.

John had insisted on the ring he had given her during the nineteenth century for old times' sake. It couldn't have made Helen happier.

* * *

**8\. Science**

"So, how come you're the only person around here besides Biggie that isn't a science person, Hank?" Kate asked. Henry raised an eyebrow at her over his computer.

"Because I like computers. It's my thing, Kate," he told her. "It's a HAP thing."

"I thought you weren't like the others?" she asked.

"Because I know how to control it."

"Like you know how to control your feelings for a girl who's not even here?"

"Kate…"

"She's gone, Hank," Kate snapped. Henry sighed.

"Ashley was my best friend, Kate. I did love her, just not like that. I just miss her."

* * *

**9\. Fiction**

"Why do you even have this?" Telsa asked, holding up a book. Helen glanced at the cover and frowned.

"I don't. That's not mine, Nikola," she said. He scowled at her.

"This is the most ridiculous portrayal of my race that I have ever read," he replied. "I'm quite offended by it."

"I doubt the author knew anything about vampires, Nikola."

" _Sanguine Vampiris_ is nothing to make fun of! We are not fiction!"

"Nor do you sparkle. I realize that. Not everyone does, however. They don't realize that they are offending the only vampire in existence. Wait, you read it?"

* * *

**10\. Comedy**

"I don't see how this is so funny," Will commented.

"Because you're covered in goo," Kate told him. "I don't think your girlfriend would think you were so great if she saw you covered in that," she added. Will scowled at her.

"It's your fault I'm covered in this stuff," he retorted. Then he smirked, causing Kate to raise an eyebrow. The next instant, a blob of good collided with her shirt and splattered all over her.

"I'm going to hurt you," she growled. The next thing she knew, Will was giving her a hug. A slimy, gooey, disgusting hug.


	3. Set III

**11\. Wings**

Tesla let out a dramatic sigh as he looked up at Magnus's bookshelf. The book he needed was at the very top, of course. He could see it.

" _Helen!_ " Magnus entered the library a few moments later.

"What is it, Nikola?" she asked with a sigh.

"Helen, have I ever told you how wonderful you are?" Tesla asked. "You have come to me on the wings of an ange-"

"What do you want, Nikola?" Helen asked. She was obviously not impressed.

"I need a book," he informed her.

"And?"

"Will you get it for me?"

"Absolutely not. Get it yourself."

* * *

**12\. Unforgiven**

It took a long time before Helen could forgive him for what he had done. Even as he looked at her with doleful eyes, sane for the first time in more than a hundred years. Even when she knew that what he had done was not his fault.

It was only that that made John realize what he had to do. She would never be able to forgive him if he allowed everyone to be killed like this.

He just wanted to be free. But he knew that he could not be. He had to protect Helen above anything else.

* * *

**13\. Rocky**

It was impossibly rough the week after the superabnormals had attacked the Sanctuary the last time. Henry found himself wandering the halls, trying to ignore Magnus's frantic searching for any sign of Ashley. It was making it even more painful for him. They were all stretched.

They had lost both Watson and Ashley, two people that Henry had been very close to. He wished he could join Tesla and Druitt as they searched out and destroyed the remains of the Cabal.

Magnus needed him there, though. Without the people she trusted and cared about, Henry knew she would fall apart.

* * *

**14\. Titanic**

Every time she watched John Druitt disappear into nothing but energy, Helen's chest ached. She wanted to cry, to scream for him to stay.

She knew that it was necessary for him to leave – it always was. It seemed like so long ago that he had threatened to allow their daughter to die just so that he could live. In a way, she was glad that he had. She enjoyed having him around now. Recent revelations had even allowed her to forgive him entirely. Perhaps once everything going on now had been resolved, everything could be as it was before.

* * *

**15\. Crash**

Magnus was getting used to the random crashes now. Another one rang through the Sanctuary, followed by a string of frustrated curses. Tesla came stalking into her office a few moments later.

"Magnets, Helen? Really?" he demanded. Magnus gave him an innocent smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she told him. Tesla seethed as he glared at her. He stalked off again. Seconds later, another loud bang reached her ears, followed by more swearing from Tesla, in Serbian this time. The trouble he was having with his electromagnetic powers since his 'de-vamping' were nothing less than utterly amusing.


	4. Set IV

**16\. Clue**

"It was an energy creature?" Tesla asked again. "Seriously?" Helen gave him an annoyed look.

"That's what I told you an hour ago, Nikola" she replied. "Do I really need to tell you again?"

"No. James would have had a field day if he knew that it was an energy creature that made Johnny go Jack the Ripper on us back at Oxford. If only he had known that, maybe I wouldn't have been stuck _strapped to a table for a week_ while Johnny was gallivanting about the city _killing people_ ," Tesla told her irately.

"Oh, don't start that again!"

* * *

**17\. Operation**

The power was out again. And it wasn't his fault this time.

"Did you do this?" Helen demanded the instant he walked into her office with a full wine glass and a smirk on his face.

"Nope," Tesla replied, sitting down on the dimly lit couch. "I think it was the techie. Or the protégé. Probably Dr. Expendable," he told her. "I just wanted to see your lovely face."

"Get out."

"Why?"

"Because I have work to do and you're getting in my way."

"I can help, you know," Telsa reminded her.

"Not after you blew up my lab yesterday."

* * *

**18\. Life**

It took the Five a long time to figure out exactly what power the Source Blood had given Helen. It was much less obvious. Tesla's had been easy, particularly after the first time he lost control.

John's had manifested when he had suddenly disappeared and reappeared in a cloud of colorful smoke. Then there was the day Nigel's clothing was walking around on its own and James had solved every logic puzzle they had simply because he was bored.

Her power was much more subtle. John called it elegant. Helen was not sure she liked the idea of living forever.

* * *

**19\. Sorry**

He could never quite make up for all that he had done. He could never just say 'I'm sorry, Helen. It won't happen again' and be done with it.

" _John, you don't have to do this. We can find a way-"  
_

It haunted him constantly. With the source of the rage and homicidal intent gone, he was calm, peaceful. He was his old self again.

" _I love you. Remember that. Always. For all eternity."_

What he had done was unforgivable. John loved Helen Magnus with all his heart, but he knew that they could never be together in the end.

* * *

**20\. Risk**

"That did _not_ go as planned," Kate growled. "That _thing_ nearly ate me!"

"You made it angry! Of course it's going to try to eat you!" Will snapped. Henry rolled his eyes at the two of them.

"Will you two pipe down?" he demanded. "I'm trying to work here and I can't do that if you two are bickering!"

Magnus shook her head as she brushed herself off. That hadn't gone well.

"You should have known that it was a bad idea to go in there in the first place!" Kate shouted at Will.

Oh, lovely. Now they were fighting.


	5. Set V

**21\. Rated**

"Nikola, get out of there this instant!" Helen shouted from the top of the stairs.

"I'm in the middle of something!" Tesla called back. Magnus glared down the stairs.

"You are not drinking any more of that," she retorted.

"If you want a solution to your problem, I am."

"Nikola! Get up here now!"

"Fine," Tesla replied, hopping down from the stool he had been standing on. He appeared at the bottom of the stairs a moment later. "Look what I found," he said cheerfully. "A bottle of my favorite Serbian merlot…From my favorite vintage, too. How nice of you."

* * *

**22\. Guidance  
**

"Hello, Helen," Tesla said, shaking her out of her near trance. She looked up and smiled.

"Nikola, thank goodness!" she replied. "We need your help. Where's John?"

Tesla's expression changed to one of regretful solemnity. "He's not coming."

"What do you mean 'he's not coming'?" Helen asked.

"He's not coming, Helen. And he asked me to tell you that he would appreciate it if you would make up your mind about whether you want him around or never want to see him again," Tesla told her.

In that instant, Helen Magnus's world came crashing down around her all over again.

* * *

**23\. Suggested**

Every time he saw her, he had done something wrong. Every time, she hated him. It was perfectly his fault, he realized, but there was little he could do about how she felt.

Will had told him about the dream world, said she had said that she was married to a man she hated.

Once, she had loved him. Now she never wanted to see him again. John knew he had done the wrong thing. All he had ever wanted was his happily ever after with her.

He would give her what she wanted.

He never answered her call again.

* * *

**24\. Caution  
**

_Crash._

"I'm _back!_ "

Will and Henry exchanged glances as Tesla's voice echoed through the Sanctuary. What in the world?

" _Nikola!_ If you break something again, so help me I will-" Magnus and Tesla hadn't even been back from the Praxian stronghold for two seconds and they were already fighting again.

The next instant, there was another crash and the sound of a gun being fired. Henry and Will raced to the entryway to find Magnus glaring at Tesla, who was inspecting a hole in his coat.

"Why, Helen, you shot me again," he deadpanned. "And we just got back…"

* * *

**25\. Restricted**

" _You destroyed my heart, John_."

Magnus never forgot those words. They had been to a specter, but she never forgot them.

When John reappeared to save her, she wanted to hurt him. When he came to help against the Cabal, she almost wanted to kiss him. Then he was gone again. But he came back. He always came back. He helped when they went to Hollow Earth.

The revelation of what he had done – the fact that he would change everything for his own selfish desires… She had thought she could trust him. Obviously not.

Then he was gone forever.


	6. Set VI

**26\. Sex**

"Mom?" Magnus looked up from her notes to see her daughter peeking over the edge of her desk at her.

"Yes, Ashley?" Magnus asked.

"Where do babies come from?" the little blond girl asked. Her mother could only stare at her five-year-old.

"Where did this come from?" she inquired. Ashley shrugged.

"I was talking to Uncle James and he wouldn't tell me," she told Magnus. The guilty party poked his head into his friend's office.

"James, you didn't…" she said, shaking her head when he looked sheepish.

"I might have said something, but I did not say anything about that…"

* * *

**27\. Graphic**

"Oh, this is lovely," Telsa muttered to himself. "There is no imagination here," he said as he pulled apart one of the techie's beloved stunners. "Unshielded platinum coils again, prone to overheating if modified. Must I do everything myself?" he demanded of no one in particular. Then Henry walked in.

"What are you doing with my stuff?" he demanded.

"Fixing it," Tesla replied. "This leaves nothing to the imagination, and it's not efficient. It nearly got me killed. You should be more careful."

"Look who's talking! You're the lazy genius vampire who blows things up all the time!"

"Your point?"

* * *

**28\. Violence**

"I'm going to kill him," Magnus growled. Watson and Griffin exchanged glances.

"Helen…" James said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't do anything rash," he told her. She ignored him, shooting a scathing glare at Tesla.

"Helen, listen to James," Tesla piped up. "I didn't do anything to you and it's not my fault," he told her. She just glared at him. She took three steps away from the other two men and the next thing they knew, Tesla was picking himself up off the floor.

He sighed as he looked at his bloodstained shirt. "Again, Helen? Really?"

* * *

**29\. Language**

There was something wrong with what was going on. It felt like cardiology was a whole different language that he didn't know a thing about. Something felt wrong about this life. It was as if it wasn't supposed to be. The blue flashes and the instants where things were not what they were supposed to be...

Perhaps it was just the stress from the surgery he was to perform. It was still bothering him, though. Helen and her cat across the street…John Druitt in the newspaper…Nikola Tesla on television. It was as if he was supposed to know these people.

* * *

**30\. Drugs**

They had learned long ago that nothing could keep Nikola Tesla down for long. But now…Helen did not know what to do. He could die in this Praxian stronghold. She could not help but blame herself. Even if the loss of his immortality had not been her fault, she was the one who had brought him here.

Only the first aid kit she had with her was keeping him alive. That would not last much longer. The only thing that was keeping him alive was the remnants of his powers.

She did not want to face saying goodbye to him.


	7. Set VII

**31\. The Path and the Walker**

It had taken Helen Magnus a long time to get to where she was. She was one of the most respected scientists in the world. She was the head of the Sanctuary Network. She had everything she should have wanted.

But she did not. She had lost too much that was important along the road. Nigel. James. Ashley. John. They were all gone - three to death, the other to betrayal. They had made her who she was. They had shaped her, just as her father had. Just as Nikola had. She was who she had become because of them.

* * *

**32\. Hope**

Panic set in when they couldn't bring him back. No matter what she and Ravi did, Will was gone. He wasn't going to come back without a miracle.

The reality was starting to sink in now. He was _gone_. It did not seem right. It did not seem _fair_. Will had been their only hope to get to Kali and to calm Big Bertha. Now Kate didn't know what they were going to do.

It just wasn't fair. She had finally found a place where she belonged and now Will was dead and everyone else could die in the conflict…

* * *

**33\. Get Over It**

"Come on, Helen, please!"

"No!"

"Oh, come on. You got me to say 'please!' I _never_ say please!" Tesla told her. "I just want the larva! I need it!"

"No, Nikola," Magnus replied. "You do not need it. It needs to be destroyed before it matures," she told him. He made a noise a frustration.

"I cannot be normal! I should be a vampire! This is my chance to return to my true nature! Don't take that away from me!" he said. She turned and gave him a look.

"It's not going to work," she told him. "Get over it."

* * *

**34\. Hold Back the Darkness**

There were times when Helen Magnus was grateful for her closest friend's constant scheming. Even when things were bad, Nikola Tesla was still hell-bent on world domination and vampire rule. He was still prone to idiocy despite his genius.

When everything fell apart, he was still there. When she felt like she was losing John, he was still there.

Tesla could always make her smile. Despite the fact that he had once tried to kill her, he did care about her. She was the only one who had stood by him in times of trouble. He owed her the same.

* * *

**35\. Time**

It was not until she had chased Worth down that Helen realized that she had no way to get back. She was stranded in the past – her own past. She was from a different time. This was where she had come from. This was where she had been truly happy.

That was before the Source Blood had come into play, and it was far too late to stop that from happening. It was too late to save John. Too late for anything.

Worse, once she had calmed down and started to think, she realized what she had done to him.


	8. Set VIII

**36\. Cube**

"Henry, you want to help me with this crate?" Will asked.

Of course, Henry didn't look up from whatever he was doing in his lab. It took him several minutes to respond and even then, he didn't look up.

"Yeah, in a minute," he replied.

Ten minutes later, Will was still waiting. Henry had not so much as moved from the spot he was sitting in.

"Henry, any time now would be nice," Will commented.

"In a minute," Henry replied. "I'm busy."

"Henry, do you want these eggs to hatch here?" Will asked.

"Busy!"

"Henry, now!"

"In a minute!"

"Henry!"

* * *

**37\. Sphere**

When they were in the Praxian control room, Henry was like a kid in a candy store. The Praxians obviously did not like it, but they were tolerating it reasonably well.

"Don't touch that!"

Okay, so maybe they weren't.

"Stop that, surface dweller," one of the techs snarled at him when he pressed a button they did not like. Henry held his hands up.

"Sorry."

"Get lost."

"Okay, geeze."

That was some crazy awesome tech, though. Henry really wished he could spend hours here without Kate bothering him and trying to keep him from exploring everything. That was majorly annoying.

* * *

**38\. Cone**

"Mama, Henry took my ice cream!" Ashley Magnus shrieked. Magnus let out a sigh, putting down the paper she had been trying to read. She looked over at the two children, who were seven and nine. Henry smiled innocently while Ashley glared at him.

"Henry, where is it?" Magnus asked. Henry shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied. She shook her head at him. Obviously this was not going to be as easy as she had hoped it would be. How lovely.

"Alright. Then why was Ashley so upset?" she inquired.

"I don't know," he repeated.

"Henry."

"I didn't do it!"

* * *

**39\. Cylinder**

This was what he got for using spoiled, idiotic _brats_ for his experiment. If he ever saw them again, he was going to be a very unhappy former vampire.

Wait. He already was. He sighed.

"What's wrong this time?" Magnus said from across the room, looking up from the book she was perusing.

"Oh, nothing. Just lamenting the terrible extinction of my race because of those bratty little imbeciles. Again."

"Honestly, will you just get over it? Quite frankly, you need to stop moping."

"You try being a vampire for a hundred years then becoming mortal again. Then we'll talk."

* * *

**40\. Pyramid**

There was a certain hierarchy at the Sanctuary. That was fairly obvious to everyone who met with Helen Magnus's team. It was fairly obvious to everyone except one person. Perhaps he chose not to notice it, or perhaps he was just ignoring it.

Will was quite annoyed when Tesla decided to commandeer his office as a laboratory. Oh, no. He was _not_ remotely happy.

"Alright, this is not happening," he told the vampire. "My office. Not yours."

"Do I look like I care, Doctor Expendable?" Tesla asked. "Run along now."

" _Nikola,_ get out here!" Magnus shouted only a moment later.


	9. Set IX

**41\. Who?**

James felt like he was being watched. It was not a feeling he was accustomed to anymore. It seemed as though it had been far longer since he had been watched like this than he remembered.

He turned, his eyes scanning the streets of London. There was no one who seemed out of place or like they were doing anything remotely suspicious to his trained eye. Not even the talents the Source Blood had given him helped him now.

In the end, he never discovered who had been following him. No one knew that Worth was watching. They never did.

* * *

**42\. What?**

"Magnus—"

"No."

"Helen!"

"No."

"This is really unnecessary! Just because I'm a vampire again does not mean that I need to be restrained! We talked about this!"

'That was before you tried to attack Henry," Magnus told him.

"He started it!" Tesla retorted.

"Really, Nikola, stop making excuses," she replied.

"Then let me out of here!"

"Not a chance."

Tesla sighed, glaring at her through the reinforced glass. All because he and wolf boy had gotten into a slight argument about efficiency and it had escalated a little. It wasn't his fault. What had he done to deserve this?

* * *

**43\. When?**

"Do you remember this one?" Kate asked, holding up a picture for Will to see. He frowned slightly, peering at it before he looked back at his old friend.

"No, I don't," he told her. "When was it taken?"

"Thirty years ago. It was when Tesla made that blue goop," she said. Will laughed.

"I didn't know we had pictures of that. I'm glad the stuff was harmless."

"So am I. You got so much of that stuff in my hair."

"You got me back, though," Will retorted. Kate grinned.

"Yes, I did. Remember when we teamed up against Henry?"

* * *

**44\. Where?**

Where did she put it? Ashley had torn her room apart twice looking for the gold-plated firearm her mother had given her for her twenty-first birthday. That was after she had turned whole house upside down in the matter of an hour.

"Looking for something?" a voice asked behind her. Ashley whirled to see her mother standing in the doorway. Helen Magnus did not look at all happy.

"Umm…my birthday present?"

"Did you look in the armory?" Helen suggested. Ashley was out of the room in an instant.

"Thanks, Mom!" she called over her shoulder. Helen just shook her head.

* * *

**45\. Why?**

_Why did I leave him?_

Thoughts of John Druitt haunted Magnus as she made her way through Victorian London in her new clothing. She looked just like every other person walking through the streets. Once upon a time she had been just like them, but not anymore.

_Why did I say those things to him?_

She let out a soft sigh as she caught sight of James and Nigel across the street. The pain of John's betrayal was so fresh for them. It was as fresh as the pain she felt now.

_Why didn't I tell him I loved him?_


	10. Set X

**46\. Return**

Helen had never expected John to show up out of the blue. She had never thought that he would have saved her, that she could even begin to trust him again.

She had also never thought that Nikola would try to kill her simply because she would not help him with his little project. The sight of John covered in Nikola's blood had startled her, but not as much as seeing Ashley in tow had.

He seemed different now, but she knew that he wasn't. She wanted to believe he had changed, but she knew better. John would never change.

* * *

**47\. Revenge**

Ashley let out a squeal as a blast of water hit the back of her bathing suit. She whirled around only to have another spout of water soak the front of her suit. She let out another shriek and held her hands in front of her face until her attacker stopped for a moment.

Only then did she point her own water gun at her best friend and squirt him in the chest.

"Cold!" Henry yelped, trying to get out of the way.

"Serves you right!" Ashley told him, making sure to squirt every bit of dry skin she could.

* * *

**48\. Curse**

" _Curses!_ This stupid thing won't work properly!"

"Calm down."

"It's my life's work, Helen, and you're telling me to calm down!" Tesla demanded.

Helen sighed, giving her old friend an extremely irate look.

"I highly doubt that re-vamping yourself is your life's work, Nikola," she replied. He ignored her.

"No, but bringing back my species and ruling the world is," he replied.

"Nikola?"

"What?"

"You're human." The former vampire straightened and looked at her.

"That is beyond the point!"

Helen shook her head at him. "Nikola, we've already tried everything," she said.

"Not this! This is an absolutely brilliant idea…"

* * *

**49\. Wrath**

The wrath of a vampire was a scary thing. Particularly when you were not Helen Magnus, John Druitt, or the vampire himself.

Will had never seen Tesla so angry before. Magnus had tried to calm him down, but he had knocked her out (he would regret that when she woke up) and it had taken Druitt, Henry, and a horse tranquilizer to make him stop.

"Will? Are you alright?" He started when Magnus called his name. She walked into the lab a moment later, the new bruise already bright.

"Yeah," he replied. "I never want to see that again, though."

* * *

**50\. Attack**

"Dang it!" Henry shouted. He slammed his fist against the counter in his lab, glaring at the computer screen. This was _so_ not fair. Why did this always happen to him? It was never anyone else.

He made a noise of frustration and started typing something else out to try to fix his problem. It didn't work. Of course not. That was just his luck. He smacked his hand on the table, accidentally knocking his tablet off in the process.

Magnus and Biggie rushed in a moment later, obviously worried.

"Henry, what happened?" Magnus asked.

"My Warcraft account got hacked!"


	11. Set XI

**51\. Death**

They were the last ones left. Just the two of them. Will was gone. Kate had died years ago. Biggie had ended his long life peacefully. John had sacrificed himself for her years before. Ashley had been long gone. It was just her. Her and Nikola.

They had walked a long path. They were both immortal, he was invulnerable. They were companions as the world slowly began to change all over again.

It was a comfort to have Nikola by her side. It was the only comfort left to her when there was no one else she loved left alive.

* * *

**52\. Doom**

"So, who wants to push the button of doom?" Tesla asked dryly, staring at the stone wall that was definitely a booby trap.

"Not me," Will said, taking a step back.

"Well, I'm not doing it," Kate said, looking over at Henry expectantly.

"What are you looking at me for? If it gets me killed, who's going to run security and the computer network?!" he demanded, holding up his hands.

"Why don't we just send Doctor Expendable?" Tesla suggested. They were squabbling like children and he wasn't impressed.

"Why don't you go, then, Nikola? You're the vampire," Helen pointed out.

* * *

**53\. Terror**

When she woke screaming while her mother was away on business, Ashley didn't know what to do. She was terrified. It was the first time her mother had left her and Henry alone at the Sanctuary. Sure it wasn't just the two of them, but it was still the first time Helen had left them behind.

She flinched at the knock on her door. "Who is it?" she asked softly. Henry opened it and peered in, concern on his face.

"You okay, Ashley?" he asked. "I heard screaming…"

"I had a nightmare."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

* * *

**54\. Peril**

There was no way they were going to get out of this. Not this time. They were hanging by a literal thread over a bottomless pit.

Then the thread snapped.

They both knew it was going to be a long fall. Until their freefall suddenly jerked to a stop. Helen and Will looked up to see a familiar face looking down at them, holding the rope with one hand.

"Need some help?" Tesla asked.

"Nikola!"

"Hello, Helen. Miss me?" He smirking down at her and Will.

"Not now! Help us up!"

"Oh, but this is so much fun to watch…"

* * *

**55\. Shadow**

John was her silent shadow. Everyone knew it except for her. When Helen was in danger, John was there. She never saw him, but he always made sure she was safe.

Nikola knew. He had caught John on several occasions when he was working with the enemy just to make sure that his beloved came to no harm. It was sweet in a strange, almost sadistic way. The man was a serial killer, yet he would put anything on the line for one woman.

But it was not just one woman and they all knew it. It was Helen Magnus.


	12. Set XII

**56\. Prime**

"This is a prime example of why we shouldn't leave them alone in the Sanctuary," Will told Magnus as they surveyed the mess. The occupants of the building were fine, but the whole place looked like a tornado had blown through.

"They're usually well behaved," Magnus commented.

"That was when Biggie stayed here to watch them," he said as they walked into her study to find Tesla sitting in her chair, his hair a brilliant shade of green.

"I hope you know that I arrived here and was immediately treated to a very unwelcome bucket of paint on my head."

* * *

**57\. Composite**

They had been a team, once. Before the Source Blood. Now John was gone. Nigel was dead. Nikola had disappeared to do whatever he felt like doing. It was just her and James left working on her Sanctuary.

Magnus couldn't help but miss them. All of them. Even John. She still loved him dearly, though she would never admit it to it. She missed their days at Oxford when they had been working on the serum. It had been better back then. They had been closer then. They were still the Five, but she wished they had not fallen apart.

* * *

**58\. Deficient**

"Are you insane?" a voice asked him. Tesla looked up to see Helen walking into the kitchen, looking as though she was most certainly going to rain on his parade.

"What? I said I was going to do this and I am," he replied.

"You nearly killed Henry the last time you cooked, Nikola," she reminded him.

"So wolf boy didn't like it. Whatever. It's not like he actually would have died. He wasn't allergic," Tesla told her.

"If you want to cook, you get to eat it. All of it. And you are banned from the wine cellar."

"Helen!"

* * *

**59\. Perfect**

The thought struck her when she and John were sitting alone, watching the sunset. It was just the two of them. She turned to look at him for a moment as he continued to gaze as the sight in front of them.

They had been through so much. The revelation that what had happened was not his fault was unsettling, but she could not help but be proud of him. He had fought so hard to be who he wanted to be. The creature inside him made that nearly impossible, but he still loved her.

The moment was almost perfect.

* * *

**60\. Abundant**

"Nikola Tesla, what do you think you are doing!"

Tesla sighed as he peered at his wine glass. "Having a drink of one of my favorite vintages," he replied when Will, John, and Helen marched into the room.

"Then explain why my office is covered in nothing but diagrams, blueprints, and plans to take over the world," Helen demanded. Tesla shrugged.

"Because I felt like it," he replied. "Besides, you've made it abundantly clear that you had other things to take care of, and I had something to tell you," he added.

"And you couldn't have just told me instead?"


	13. Set XIII

**61\. Toys**

They could see her shaking her head at them as they tossed the cricket ball around the lab.

"You're going to break something," she told them. John grinned at her as he tossed the ball to James.

"Don't worry, Helen," he said. "We're being careful."

"And it helps us think," James added.

Nigel rolled his eyes. "Only because you want it to. I would be much better able to think if I did not have to worry about the equipment," he retorted.

Nikola just shook his head and threw it to him. He missed and knocked over a beaker. "Oops."

* * *

**62\. Bugs**

Henry was not happy. Oh, no. Usually he didn't mind fixing things. Usually he loved it. That was a HAP thing, as he had discovered. He was, however, not happy with what was wrong with his system.

It was buggy. It was not the programming – he had done that himself. It was physically buggy. There were actual insects caught in the wires. It looked as though some of them had been eating the wiring inside the main CPU in his lab.

He sighed. This was going to be a lot of work. And he had to tell Magnus, too. Great.

* * *

**63\. Monsters**

Her children were monsters. They were running around the house like little wild creatures. If it had just been Henry, she might have let it go. He was used to roaming the moors and being confined to a house was still something he was getting used to, even after two years.

The fact that Ashley was running around like a wild child was not something she approved of.

"What do you two think you're doing?" she demanded. Both children stopped to stare at her.

"We're playing Savannah, Mama! I'm a cheetah and Henry is a gazelle! Just like on TV!"

* * *

**64\. Heroes**

He was gone. Tears streamed down Helen's face as she knelt next to him. John had survived the reactor overload only to lose his life to the damage caused by taking all of that power into himself.

His last act had been to teleport both of them back to the safety of the Sanctuary from the only loadstone-free place in Hollow Earth.

All of the horrible things she had said to him haunted her. He had been a hero, whether or not she had been willing to admit it. She would honor him as a hero. Then she would mourn.

* * *

**65\. Rats**

That little rat.

By the time he processed all that was going on, John's vision was red. How could Worth have survived? It made no sense. He had been _dying_. John had stayed near the river long enough that he _knew_ that Adam had never surfaced. He had been gone.

And then he turned up again more than a hundred years later. That should not have even been possible. Worth wasn't even part vampire like the Five had been.

If Helen hadn't needed Worth, John would have killed him on the spot.

Oh, the things he did for Helen Magnus.


	14. Set XIV

**66\. Scars (UDC1 - #42)**

Both of them had scars. More than they would ever be willing to admit.

They had said horrible things to each other. Helen despised him. She blamed him for everything. Yet, it was not entirely his fault. It never really was. He made a mistake and she hated him for it.

When she said she did not want to see him again, she never bargained on him listening. When he did not come when she needed him, would it be another scar?

John could not help but wonder which she would regret more: the scars or sending him away forever.

* * *

**67\. Black (UDC2 - #81)**

There was a time when she mourned for him. She mourned for John, for the love they had once shared, for the life they could have had, for Ashley. She mourned for everything that could – should – have been.

No one questioned why she wore only black for five years after the Hollow Earth fiasco ended. They thought it was simply for Ashley. No. She was mourning for him, too.

They never asked why John never turned up like he had become prone to. They never asked at all.

That was what hurt the most. They never knew what he'd done.

* * *

**68\. Head Over Heels (UDC3 - #81)**

When he promised her forever, they thought they could never be more in love. They were everything to each other. It was euphoria at its finest.

It was all shattered in an instant. A single teleportation changed the course of their lives forever.

Through everything, there was never an instant where John Druitt did not love Helen Magnus. There was never an instant where he was not trying to protect her from the shadows. There was never an instant where he did not wish things were different.

When John promised Helen forever, he meant it. Nothing would ever change that.

* * *

**69\. No Turning Back (UDC4 - #31)**

Seclusion was a difficult thing for Helen Magnus. A one hundred and thirteen year vacation was not what she had had in mind when she had gone through the portal to save the timeline.

There was so much for her to think about. So much that was difficult to think about. It was only during her time alone that she wondered what her actions had changed. Would John listen to her? Would he stay away?

She could have changed everything with her rash actions. She hoped that she had not. She missed him, but there was no turning back now.

* * *

**70\. Needed (UDC5 - #90)**

How he managed to survive the blast was beyond him. It was all a blur that he could not even begin to sort through. Not when the energy creature inside him was raging. Not when it was all he could do to control it.

It was a constant battle. All he wanted was peace; all it wanted was blood to quench its thirst. Only once since he had encountered this creature had he known peace, yet that was all he needed to be able to control it. It was only that and his memories of Helen that kept him fighting.


	15. Set XV

**71\. Avarice**

There came a time when John Druitt wanted what Nikola Tesla had more than anything in the world. He wanted what Nigel Griffin had. He wanted what James Watson had. And he most certainly wanted what Helen Magnus had.

The rage inside him was driving him mad. He would give anything – _anything_ – to be like one of them. To be sane. To be _free_. To have a power that didn't make him crave the blood he spilled with each life he took.

There was nothing that John wanted more than what they had. He wanted their sanity – he wanted Helen.

* * *

**72\. Envy**

There were many times when John Druitt wished to be normal. He wished that he had never taken the Source Blood injection like the others did. Then he would not be trapped in this cursed existence with that blasted energy monster. That part of him – the part that truly was Jack the Ripper – had torn his life – everything he loved – to shreds. His closest friends believed him to be a murderer. He was. The woman he loved believed that he was finally showing his true colors. He wasn't. John did not care. He just wanted it all to go away.

* * *

 **73.** **Gluttony**

If there was one thing that Nikola Tesla loved above all else, it was the delectable assortment of wine in Helen's seller.

The last time he had been at the Sanctuary, he had practically emptied it. He had still been a vampire then. Now he was just a normal little human who could no longer drink her stores of wine dry. He would have to content himself with yet another bottle of his favorite Serbian merlot.

It was little consolation for losing his vampiric abilities, but it helped. He was going to have to get used to being human again.

* * *

**74\. Lust**

She had seen a vampire's bloodlust in action before. Once upon a time, Nikola had been out of control. His vampiric abilities and urges had taken hold when the Source Blood reactivated the dormant genes.

The senseless killing had never reached the authorities. Nikola had been lucky – as John had not. That was why James had suspected the murders were their dear, egotistical vampiric friend. Without that bloodlust, Nikola was surprisingly civil.

She had the distinct feeling that Afina would not be so considerate. She would rather drain the world dry than let her 'human inferiors' rule it for her.

* * *

**75\. Pride**

Nikola Tesla was far too pleased with himself, Helen decided. He had been walking around the Sanctuary with an all too proud smirk on his face all day.

Until a bucket of glitter somehow managed to land on top of him. She was not entirely sure how the bucket had been filled with glitter or how it had landed on her friend's head, but after he had stormed into her office absolutely covered in it, she could not stop laughing.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded.

Helen could only laugh. "I think you've been made into a sparklepire."


	16. Set XVI

**76\. Pow!**

Will was tired of constantly being shot at. Guns, spines, spores – all of it was starting to get on his nerves. This was not what he had signed on for. Then again, he had not signed on to meet Druitt or Tesla, but that happened along the way.

Sometimes he wished the Sanctuary was peaceful and that he could do what he had been trained to do. (If he was honest, he had let himself get too wrapped up in being Magnus's second-in-command for a while.)

The rock that almost hit him two seconds later derailed his train of thought.

* * *

**77\. Bang!**

Nikola Tesla had a penchant for getting stuck in booby traps and he hated it. He hated when he ended up hanging in the air upside down, when Helen and John found it increasingly hilarious to watch him struggle to get out. (It had been Gregory Magnus who had been the cleverest of all. Now _that_ had been a trap worth getting caught in, even if it was intentional.)

He certainly did not appreciate being attacked in the former Praxian stronghold.

He had fallen so far for one who had once been a vampire. It wasn't even an impressive death.

* * *

**78\. Boom!**

The change was sudden. It was too fast and she was out of sorts. Everywhere she turned, she was out of her element. (Being an ambassador to the remnants of Praxian civilization did not have a rule book, much less one for a former bounty hunter turned Sanctuary employee.)

She felt like she was going to do something wrong or blow something up half the time. Praxian technology was so different from what she was used to dealing with. She had already had to relearn so much.

There were times when she wondered how much of it was worth it.

* * *

**79\. Zap!**

Henry scowled when he heard the telltale sound of loud pops and buzzing from the other side of the lab. It took him a moment to extricate from what he was doing to storm over to where Tesla was standing in front of one of the computers. The former vampire was peering at it with a mixture of distaste and irritation.

"Do you really have to do that to every computer in the lab?" Henry demanded. "That's the third one you've zapped this week!"

Tesla looked at him. "It's not my fault they can't handle my genius."

"You're an idiot."

* * *

**80\. Pop!**

The circuit popped when the fuse went out. The sudden lack of power was audible. Helen sighed and rose from her chair to head down to the lab. She knew it had to have something to do with Henry's latest piece of equipment. Half the time it blew a fuse and some part of the Sanctuary was without power.

What she was not expecting was to see a frazzled and slightly sooty vampire sitting in the lab.

"What did you do this time?" she asked. Nikola looked affronted.

"I'll have you know that it was the computer's fault, not mine."


	17. Set XVII

**81\. Inception**

It seems ironic, in the end, that she kisses Nikola of her own accord. She can't help but wonder where the idea came from. She can see John in her mind's eye, looking at her with those mournful eyes of his.

She is not letting go of him. She cannot. She lost him long ago, but she knows – she knows _now_ , after he is gone – that he was fighting to return to her.

Her heart is raw, in the end. She has Nikola, but she cannot help but wonder what happened to all of them and where they fell apart.

* * *

**82\. Babe**

When she looked at the squalling baby in her arms, Helen Magnus fell in love all over again. The little pieces of the broken heart she had nursed for more than a century seemed whole for the first time since she had turned her back on John.

For the first time in a very long time, she could feel joy – she could feel _hope_. Hope that this little girl would be able to see a world that was full of light; hope that they could be happy.

There was nothing that could make the moment any more perfect. Except John.

* * *

**83\. Network**

The Sanctuary Network took her a lifetime to build. It took everything she had not to fall apart when she watched it be dismantled piece by piece as everything came crashing down around her.

Strangely, there was also a sense of peace. There would no longer be a myriad of government agencies trying to knock down her door or anyone trying to call in favors because Helen Magnus worked outside of the lines.

Helen knew the peace would not last long – as soon as Nikola waltzed in, it would be chaos. She had no doubt that he would ensure that.

* * *

**84\. Avatar**

"What are you doing?"

Henry looked up to see Will standing over him, peering at the computer screen over his shoulder. "I'm playing League of Legends," he said.

Will didn't move as he watched the screen. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the figure moving around the screen. As he watched, Henry's champion went down.

Henry sighed and turned to look at Will. "That is my champion. That's the person I control – the person I use to fight the other players. Like an avatar. You know what that is, right?"

"Not really."

"You, my friend, have a lot to learn."

* * *

**85\. Traffic**

Henry was not particularly happy when people trounced through his lab. Magnus and Will were always welcome, but he was getting tired of removing a certain vampire every time he turned around. He hated when Tesla visited. The conceited vampire was always a pain in his backside. Especially when he kept ducking in and out of the lab.

All Henry wanted was a little peace and quiet. Usually it didn't matter so much to him, but the power had already gone out twice. _Twice_.

When Tesla blew another fuse, Henry was pretty sure he was going to blow one, too.


	18. Set XVIII

**86\. Direct**

There was still glitter all over her office from when Nikola had trounced in, covered in the stuff. It made Helen smile every time she found more, especially when Nikola came to visit and she pointed it out to him. That always earned a scowl from him.

It was certainly better than the paint splatter from when he had had a bucket of vibrant green paint dumped on his head.

Helen was sure that all of this was the direct result of the ridiculous amount of snark that just dripped off of Nikola. He certainly deserved every bit of it.

* * *

**87\. Produce**

There had to be an explanation, a logical one that did not involve a child. No matter how hard he thought about it as he walked out of the building, there was no other explanation. If there was nothing else, the comic book told him there was. He had always _known_ and tonight was no exception. It didn't matter if no one believed him. It didn't matter if he couldn't produce any evidence that anyone else would believe. He knew. That was enough.

Of course, the child several stories above him might make a difference, too, he thought to himself.

* * *

**88\. Perform**

It seemed like he was always in a performance. Everything he did had a flourish and wave of his hands. They all expected him to be the mad genius, to insist on recognition – and part of him did. Part of him wanted nothing more than to see his species return to power. Then there were moments when he remembered what it was like to be human again, to be powerless. He most certainly remembered what dying was like – and he remembered Afina's disdain.

Nikola Telsa soldiered on in his own way. He was a genius and a vampire, after all.

* * *

**89\. Edit**

There were many things that Helen Magnus would go back and change if she could. She would not let John go on that ill-fated journey that ripped him away from her forever – their paths might cross and they might have had a chance once, but she cannot trust him.

She found, however, if she had the choice, she knew that she would not be able to. She might have lost John, but she might never have had Ashley. Though the pain of losing her daughter was still so raw, she knew she would not have been able to erase that.

* * *

**90\. Distribute**

"You have to shift your hand over just a little bit," Ashley told him.

Henry glanced up at her from where he hung upside down inside the generator. "Are you sure you're helping?"

Ashley flashed him a brilliant smile, which only made him roll his eyes. "Of course I am. If you put too much pressure there it will break, and then you'll be stuck because you didn't distribute your weight properly."

"I will not be stuck!"

"If you are, don't blame me."

"If you want to help, pull me back up. I need to find another pair of pliers."


	19. Set XIX

**91\. Spring**

The first time John brought up courtship, it was April and there were flowers everywhere. He brought her flowers and asked her to walk with him, leading her away from the lab and their friends.

It was May when they fell apart several years later. The flowers were beginning to fade and Helen wondered if they had been doomed from the start. The John she had fallen in love with was a gentle soul. Whatever had caused the change in him destroyed whatever they could have been, just as surely the spring flowers eventually gave way to the summer heat.

* * *

**92\. Summer**

"We could summer in London, you know," Tesla told her pointedly.

Helen shot him a look. "There is no need for us to summer anywhere. I can't leave the Sanctuary. There is too much to do."

He sighed dramatically. " _Helen_." He was whining again.

She shot him an irritated look. "Nikola."

"Don't you ever get tired of living underground?"

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Not that she would actually tell him that. That would be silly. "Just because we live underground now does not mean that we need to summer in London," she replied.

* * *

**93\. Autumn**

When Will joined Magnus at her new underground Sanctuary, he found it incredibly bittersweet. Everything they had worked so hard on over the years was gone. The team was broken up.

The seasons did not change underground – not like they did above. Time passed. Eventually, it began to blur together. Eventually, he began to forget what it was like to work with John Druitt hovering or with Ashley cleaning her guns in the corner.

Tesla flitted in and out as he was known to do. He never ceased to cause chaos.

Everything stopped changing. Will could not help missing them.

* * *

**94\. Winter**

Every winter, it was the same. Every year, Ashley started snowball fights. Every year, Henry ended up with snow in the most unnatural places. At least he didn't have to suffer alone once Will got there.

Will's first winter there was not going to be easy, they decided together. They plotted the best ambush point. They even plotted every possible escape route from their ambush point.

Will didn't know what hit him. Well, he did. It was a snowball. But how the snowball that hit him in the face ended up down the back of his shirt was beyond him.

* * *

**95\. Change**

Kate always knew when change was in the air. Everything always changed, no matter how hard she tried to stop it. Sometimes it wasn't so bad. Some of that change had brought her to the Sanctuary, after all. It had brought her a passion that she had never expected and a family that she had never thought she could have. It had brought her friends and a life that she was happy with.

Sometimes change wasn't so bad. This change had brought her forgiveness and peace even amidst the constant chaos. Maybe someday she would be able to forgive herself.


	20. Set XX

**96\. Cut**

The wounds Helen Magnus carried with her were not physical wounds. They could not be healed by stitching or medicine. Each wound held the name of someone who had meant something to her: someone she had lost.

They are only scars, she always told herself. They were only scars. All wounds healed.

It was only at night, when she was unguarded that the wounds bled, when they made her ache and threatened to bring tears to her eyes.

They were only scars, she told herself. The gaping wounds had long since healed.

They were only scars.

_Some wounds never heal._

* * *

**97\. Wrap**

There was wrapping paper everywhere. She should have expected that. She really should have.

Helen was not entirely sure how it had gotten on top of things that were far too high for Henry and Ashley to reach, much less how they had managed to make such a large mess even with all of the paper they had had. It was astounding.

The two culprits stood in the middle of the room looking ever so guilty. Henry had bits of wrapping paper in his hair still and Ashley had paper taped to her shirt. Helen could only shake her head.

* * *

**98\. Done**

"I can't believe you've done this."

"Relax, Helen. It's not going to be a problem."

"Nikola, you've rigged a ridiculous contraption in order to get revenge. All because you decided to read those stupid books and someone decided to dump glitter on you. Do you even know who it was?"

"No. That's why I'm going to get more than one person back."

"And you think this is another brilliant idea, I'm sure."

"Of course I do. It's foolproof."

"I realize that. But you're acting like a child."

"I am not."

"Nikola."

"What?"

"Stop being an idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!"

* * *

**99\. Over**

When the battle was over, it seemed like everything had turned to nothingness. Knowing that Ashley had flashed out of existence, just like that- it was impossible to describe. It left a bitter taste in John's mouth. They had fought so hard, put their lives on the line, and all they were left with was death.

But it would not truly be over until the Cabal bled for every single thing they had done to his girl, his _daughter_. They said that the vengeance of a woman scorned was a sight to behold. They had never seen John Druitt angry.

* * *

**100\. Finish**

In time, it all came to an end. She was the last. The last of the Sanctuary. All of them were gone. Ashley, Will, Kate, Biggie, Henry…all of them were gone. It was just Helen Magnus and her work. John was gone. Nigel had been gone a long time. James had been gone before John. Even Nikola, the one who was supposed to live forever with her, was gone.

She was alone in the Sanctuary, deep underground. Alone. The last of the Five.

Her work would never be finished. That, at least, gave her comfort. It was all she had.


End file.
